


All Strung Up

by xxDustNight88



Series: Holmes for the Holidays [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Decorations, Christmas Eve, F/M, Fluff and Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-02
Updated: 2017-12-02
Packaged: 2019-02-09 09:59:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12885465
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xxDustNight88/pseuds/xxDustNight88
Summary: In which Hermione is struggling to find her inner festivity while decorating for the holidays and Sherlock gets a bit tangled up in the process.





	All Strung Up

**Author's Note:**

  * For [starrnobella](https://archiveofourown.org/users/starrnobella/gifts).



> Happy holidays! Welcome to Holmes for the Holidays, a 12 story collection of Sherlock and Hermione one-shots and drabbles! All stories were prompted my readers and writer friends and are dedicated to them. Each story has a different rating and are based on the prompt I was given as well as a song. I will be posting a new story every two days from now until the 24th of December. I truly hope you enjoy this collection and look forward to your feedback! Much love, xxDustNight
> 
> Thank you to GaeilgeRua for beta reading! You're a rock star and I absolutely adore you! Much love, xxDustNight
> 
> Disclaimer: All non-original characters, plot points, and information belongs to J.K. Rowling, BBC, or Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The story plot and dialogue belongs to me. I do not write for profit.
> 
> Written for starrnobella. Thank you for always being my sounding board and letting my muse run wild! I hope you love this gift fic and treasure it always! 
> 
> Prompt: Person A is struggling to decorate their house for the holidays, and after a while of fumbling with the decorations they turn around to check on how person B is doing. Person B is wearing a wreath around their neck, is draped in lights, and they've hung various ornaments all over themselves. Person A isn't sure what to make of this, but Person B looks /deeply/ pleased with themselves for pulling it off. Bonus: Person B is actually stuck and didn't want to bother a frustrated Person A.
> 
> Song Recommendation: "Winter Dreams" by Kelly Clarkson
> 
> Holmes for the Holidays Playlist

. . . . . . .

" _Dreams while I'm wide awake._

_The tree, the lights, stayin' up late._

_It's true; I'm in love with you."_

-Winter Dreams by Kelly Clarkson

. . . . . . .

Snow fell softly outside the windows of 221B Baker Street, coating the street below and making foot traffic nearly impossible. Inside, a roaring fire was heating the small flat from the hearth while holiday music played softly from the radio in the kitchen. Bing Crosby… One of Hermione's favorites. The entire flat smelled of fresh pine from the Christmas tree that had been brought in just that morning, and a bit of gingerbread from the cookies that Mrs. Hudson was currently baking downstairs.

This was Sherlock and Hermione's first Christmas together as a newly engaged couple, the tentative detective having only having popped the question earlier in the week. It had come as a surprise, Hermione completely swept off her feet by his proposal. After all, he'd only told her a million times how he was truly married to his work and that despite how much he adored her, the job would always come first. Silly man. Didn't he know he was a softy underneath all that pointed cheekbones and snarky exterior?

She certainly had, and that was why she'd stuck through everything with him. Breaking down each and every brick that surrounded his heart was half the fun of their relationship. It meant that each day was a new surprise and neither of them ever became bored. They worked well together, and that's probably what prompted Sherlock's sudden haste to move their relationship forward. Now, Christmas Eve was upon them and Hermione had thought it would be fun to celebrate the holiday in style by properly decorating their flat in festive fashion.

Only, she was now regretting such a decision…

Currently, Hermione was busy sorting through the copious amount of boxes that her mother and father had sent to her after they'd sold their home in London to move to Australia permanently. There were just too many boxes of holiday trinkets to properly display all of them in 221B. She was becoming increasingly agitated with trying to discern what to use and what to return to the boxes instead. It was also difficult to find spare space due to the random objects and decor Sherlock insisted had to remain because of one case or another he was currently working on. What a mess...

Because of this, she'd tasked Sherlock with the job of decorating the Christmas tree while she tried to transform chaos into a Christmas wonderland for them. Glancing over her shoulder at her fiancé, she found him examining a wreath, his eyes narrowed while he turned it this way and that. She smiled softly, wishing she knew what was going on in that brilliant mind of his. He probably thought the idea of hanging a wreath on the wall was mad, just like he thought decorating a Christmas tree was.

Although, Hermione had to admit it had been absolutely hilarious watching him struggle to carry the freshly cut pine tree up the narrow staircase earlier in the day. He'd muttered under his breath about the stupidity of the entire holiday all while stealing glances to make sure Hermione was still behind him. Closing the lid of the box she was finished riffling through where she sat on the floor, Hermione settled back onto her haunches and cleared her throat. It drew Sherlock's attention toward her, the frown lines disappearing from his forehead momentarily.

"Everything all right, Sherlock?" She asked him, biting her lip to keep from grinning at his disheveled appearance. His dark curls were all over the place from having run his fingers through them in frustration numerous times, and there was a smudge of dust across one of his pointed cheekbones. He looked adorable, especially standing there with the sleeves of his purple Oxford shirt rolled up.

"Yes. Fine," he replied in a clipped tone, flashing her a fake grin before returning to his task.

Chuckling to herself, Hermione stood and brushed the dust from her jeans before gathering some decorations and heading to the mantle. As she arranged the various Christmas candles and knick knacks, Hermione sighed happily. She was more content than she'd ever imagined, and even though she and Sherlock were simply staying in for Christmas Eve, she couldn't complain. The simplicity of their relationship is what made her fall further in love with Sherlock. He understood she'd had enough chaos to last a lifetime and instead supplied her with stability, despite his being a consulting detective.

Somehow that never seemed to be an issue. They were both able to manage their hectic work lives only to set it aside when it came to one another. Now if only he'd be willing to pack away his skull for Christmas she would be able to properly sort out how to decorate the mantle! Shaking her head at herself, Hermione tried not to get frustrated knowing that Sherlock would be able to sense her misgivings and assume the worst as he sometimes did. Having difficulties with decorations was no reason to get all torn apart for anyways, Hermione mentally chastised herself.

After declaring the mantle a (somewhat) success, Hermione placed her hands on her hips and took a step back to see how she'd done. It looked festive enough, the holly hanging from the ledge in soft waves while a handful of red and white trimmed candles flickered happily on the top. She'd interspersed crystal Santa figurines between the candles which reflected the light from the flames in a most beautiful way. Beaming with pride, she turned to ask Sherlock what he thought, only to find a most unusual sight.

"Oh!" She exclaimed, taking in the sight of Sherlock standing there wrapped entirely in what must have been three strands of Christmas tree lights. In addition to the lights, he had the wreath from earlier hanging around his neck and various ornaments hanging from both the wreath and the lights. He looked ridiculous, especially with the pout on his face indicating he was not amused in the slightest. In fact, he looked affronted that she obviously did not appreciate the effort he'd put into placing all the lights around himself.

Holding back from laughing, Hermione stepped around John's chair and made her way toward the surly man. The closer she moved, the harder it was to hold in her laughter, a few stray giggles breaking free by the time she'd reached where he stood, trapped by the lights entangling him. Meeting his eyes, she reached out and tapped the bright red ornament hanging from the wreath. It swung back and forth right over where his heart was and that was when she lost it entirely, her innocent giggles turning into a full blown laughing fit.

She couldn't breathe and tears of mirth leaked from the corners of her eyes as she watched Sherlock roll his own with irritation. It was hard to take him seriously with all those decorations wrapped so snugly around his tall frame. Just when she thought her laughter was about to subside, he opened his mouth to speak and one of the more sturdy ornaments fell off his arm to the floor. It hit the floor and rolled out of sight beneath the sofa. The two of them watched it go, and then Sherlock huffed, effectively setting her off again.

When she was able to breathe again, only a stray giggle breaking free now and then, Sherlock finally spoke up. "Are you quite finished?" He quirked an eyebrow at her and that almost sent her off again, but she somehow managed to refrain.

"Yes, but oh, Sherlock… How on Earth did you manage to wrap yourself up in all of this?" She questioned him, reaching out to place her hand tenderly on his forearm.

"That's not important," he told her, attempting to disentangle himself now that Hermione was there to help him. He was thankful when she took pity on him and began to help the process along. Before long, Sherlock was back to normal and the lights were where they were meant to be, properly draped on their Christmas tree.

Using her wand, Hermione moved all of the ornaments into place before turning and removing the wreath from around his neck. She used a sticking spell to secure it on the wall between the kitchen doorway and the door that led downstairs. She wondered if he'd somehow known how upset she was over the mess of decorations and wanted to make her feel better so she asked, "Did you do all this to make me laugh?"

He stepped closer to her before wrapping his arms around her body and tugging her body close. "Clever witch," he grumbled before bending and capturing her lips in a kiss that managed to take her breath away. When he leaned back, he trailed his fingertips down her flushed cheeks, his mysterious eyes staring into hers like he could read her soul. "You've done a beautiful job with the mantle, Hermione. Let's take a break and get some take-out. That Chinese place you love so much should still be open."

"If we take a break now, it will be late by the time we get the rest of the flat decorated." She frowned, but he surprised her with another quick kiss, causing her to melt in his embrace.

"It will get done, even if we have to stay up all night," he declared before withdrawing from her body to gather their jackets from the hook in the kitchen.

She followed behind him, taking her coat as it was handed to her. "You don't mind?"

"Of course not, Hermione," he explained as he tied his scarf around his neck. "If you want to stay up all night and decorate every room in this flat for Christmas tomorrow, we shall do so."

Blinking in shock, Hermione stood there in the middle of the flat that looked like Christmas exploded and felt her heart swell with renewed affection for the man standing before her. "I'm very much in love with you, Sherlock Holmes." She slid onto her tiptoes and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek, smiling as he blushed slightly.

"I love you too. Now, can we please go?" He said, clearing his throat and turning to head downstairs and out into the snow.

"I'm coming… We need sustenance or you might might find yourself all strung up in lights again." When he threw her a stern look over his shoulder, she giggled, catching up and looping her arm in his as the snow fell softly around them. Yes, this was most certainly the perfect way to spend her Christmas Eve, and she wouldn't have it any other way. Biting her lip, she decided that she'd wait to tell Sherlock she knew he'd not decorated himself on purpose...


End file.
